I started with the first despatches, from 1788, looking especially for references to the Hawkesbury and the Aboriginal people. It didn’t take long to find one. A few months after the First Fleet came to rest in Sydney Harbour, Governor Phillip went back out through the Heads and turned left. A few hours’ sailing time north, he found an opening in the coast he called Broken Bay, guessed it was the entrance to a river, and went in to explore.

He was right that it was a river—it was the Hawkesbury. What happened next took place less than thirty kilometres from where Wiseman settled twenty-five years later:

When the south branch of Broken Bay was first visited we had some difficulty in getting round the headland…having very heavy squalls of wind and rain, and where we attempted to land there was not sufficient water for the boat to approach the rocks, on which were standing an old man and a youth…after pointing out the deepest water for the boats, [they] brought us fire, and going with two of the officers to a cave at some distance, the old man made use of every means in his power to make them go in with him, but they declined; and this was rather unfortunate, for it rained hard and the cave was the next day found to be sufficiently large to have contained us all…

When we returned, two days afterwards…the old man… met us with a dance and song of joy…A hatchet and several presents were made to them, and as I intended to return to Port Jackson the next day every possible means were taken to secure his friendship, but when it was dark he stole a spade, and was caught in the fact. I thought it necessary to show that I was displeased with him, and therefore, when he came to me, pushed him away, and gave him two or three slight slaps on the shoulder with the open hand, at the same time pointing to the spade. This destroyed our friendship in a moment, and seizing a spear he came close up to me, poised it, and appeared determined to strike; but whether from seeing that his threats were not regarded— for I chose rather to risk the spear than fire on him—or from anything the other natives said who surrounded him, after a few moments he dropped his spear and left us.

I read this again and again, trying to make sense of it. It was so sad and puzzling. Why was the old man so welcoming, why did he dance with joy? If he’d wanted to steal the spade, wouldn’t he have been able to do it well enough to avoid being caught? Why didn’t he spear Phillip?

I could hear Phillip’s voice, but I couldn’t hear the old man’s. I had a feeling he might have told the story differently.